HaveFun Karaoke (Bugis Cube)

HaveFun at Bugis Cube takes the entire sixth floor of the mall on North Bridge Road, which makes it the largest room the chain runs and the one built for numbers.

Scale is the point. The bigger rooms take fifteen and twenty-five people, and it gets used for family gatherings, birthdays and company nights rather than couples. The song system is quick to navigate, which counts for more than it sounds when eight people are waiting for a turn, and the catalogue runs across Mandarin, English, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Malay and Tagalog. Food is ordered to the room, and Liang Seah Street’s hotpot and supper places are a few minutes away if the group wants a proper meal after.

Two things will save you money and an argument. Book by the room rather than per head once there are more than about three of you — the per-person rate adds up quickly, and the room packages include the free-flow drinks anyway. And check exactly how long a promotional rate runs: the advertised $8.80 and $5 hourly deals apply to the first two hours only, after which the rate returns to around $28 an hour, which is not obvious from the poster and has caught people out mid-evening. The rooms are also less soundproofed than the chain’s better outlets, so a ballad next door to a loud group is a compromise you will hear.